§235-55.91 Credit for employment of vocational rehabilitation referrals. (a) There shall be allowed to each taxpayer subject to the tax imposed by this chapter, a credit for employment of vocational rehabilitation referrals which shall be deductible from the taxpayer's net income tax liability, if any, imposed by this chapter for the taxable year in which the credit is properly claimed.
(b) The amount of the credit determined under this section for the taxable year shall be equal to twenty per cent of the qualified first-year wages for that year. The amount of the qualified first-year wages which may be taken into account with respect to any individual shall not exceed $6,000.
(c) For purposes of this section:
"Hiring date" means the day the vocational rehabilitation referral is hired by the employer.
"Qualified first-year wages" means, with respect to any vocational rehabilitation referral, qualified wages attributable to service rendered during the one-year period beginning with the day the individual begins work for the employer.
"Qualified wages" means the wages paid or incurred by the employer during the taxable year to an individual who is a vocational rehabilitation referral and more than one-half of the wages paid or incurred for such an individual is for services performed in a trade or business of the employer.
"Vocational rehabilitation referral" means any individual who is certified by the department of human services vocational rehabilitation and services for the blind division in consultation with the Hawaii state employment service of the department of labor and industrial relations as:
"Wages" has the meaning given to such term by section 3306(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (determined without regard to any dollar limitation contained in the Internal Revenue Code section). "Wages" shall not include:
(d) The following shall apply to certifications of vocational rehabilitation referrals:
(e) The following wages paid to vocational rehabilitation referrals are ineligible to be claimed by the employer for this credit:
(f) In the case of a successor employer referred to in section 3306(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code, the determination of the amount of the tax credit allowable under this section with respect to wages paid by the successor employer shall be made in the same manner as if the wages were paid by the predecessor employer referred to in the section.
(g) No credit shall be determined under this section with respect to wages paid by an employer to a vocational rehabilitation referral for services performed by the individual for another person unless the amount reasonably expected to be received by the employer for the services from the other person exceeds the wages paid by the employer to the individual for such services.
(h) The credit allowed under this section shall be claimed against net income tax liability for the taxable year. A tax credit under this section which exceeds the taxpayer's income tax liability may be used as a credit against the taxpayer's income tax liability in subsequent years until exhausted.
(i) All claims for tax credits under this section, including any amended claims, shall be filed on or before the end of the twelfth month following the close of the taxable year for which the credits may be claimed. Failure to comply with the foregoing provision shall constitute a waiver of the right to claim the credit.
(j) No deduction shall be allowed for that portion of the wages or salaries paid or incurred for the taxable year that is equal to the amount of the credit determined under this section.
(k) The director of taxation may adopt any rules under chapter 91 and forms necessary to carry out this section. [L 1990, c 289, §1; am L 1991, c 137, §1; am L 2008, c 93, §5; am L 2015, c 53, §1]